Cooling plate and water cooling device having the same

ABSTRACT

A water cooling device includes a cooling plate and a water cooling module. The cooling plate includes a plate and a wording fluid. The plate includes vacuum enclosed space therein. The wording fluid is accommodated in the enclosed space. The water cooling module is connected to the cooling plate.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the priority benefit of U.S. provisional application. Ser. No. 61/693,337 filed on Aug. 27, 2012 and Taiwan application serial no. 102118977, filed on May 29, 2013. The entirety of the above-mentioned patent application are hereby incorporated via reference herein and made a part of specification.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a cooling plate and a water cooling device including the cooling plate.

2. Description of the Related Art

Electronic components usually generates much heat in operation, when the heat is not exhausted out effectively, the electronic components may shut down or even may be burned down. Commonly, a heat dissipating apparatus is disposed at an electronic chip, a fan, a heat pipe, a heat sink with a fin, a cooling plate or a water cooling module of the heat dissipating apparatus is used to dissipate heat.

When assembling the cooling device, the heat sink can be disposed at the surface of the chip to exhaust the heat out by using the fan, the heat pipe or the water cooling module, The cooling plate whose thickness is smaller than that of the heat sink can be attached to the chip to generate a cooling effect, but the cooling effect of the cooling plate is poor comparing with that of the heat sink.

Moreover, the height of a conventional heat sink is thicker, which cannot make an electronic device thinner. Although a conventional cooling plate is thinner, it is made of a solid metal plate, and the area of the conventional cooling plate contacting with air is small, the heat of the chip is conducted to the cooling plate only by heat conduction, the cooling plate cannot store heat, and the cooling effect is limited.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A cooling plate including a plate and a working fluid is provided. A enclosed space is formed in the plate. The working fluid is accommodated in the enclosed space.

A water cooling device including a cooling plate and a water cooling module is provided. The cooling plate includes a plate and a working fluid. A vacuum enclosed space is formed in the plate. The working fluid is accommodated in the enclosed space. The water cooling module is connected to the cooling plate.

Since the cooling plate includes the working fluid, and the working fluid is accommodated in the enclosed space of the plate, when the cooling plate is disposed at a heat source, the heat generated by the heat source is not only conducted via the plate but also absorbed via the working fluid in the plate, and the cooling plate has the function of heat diffusion and heat storage. Moreover, when the water cooling module is connected to the cooling plate, the cooling plate and the working fluid are in a cavity of a cooling plate connector to reduce the temperature of the cold plate.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a three-dimensional diagram showing a cooling plate in one embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a sectional schematic diagram showing a cross section of the cooling plate in FIG. 1 along a line 2-2;

FIG. 3 is a sectional schematic diagram showing that the cooling plate in FIG. 2 is used at a heat source;

FIG. 4 is a three-dimensional diagram showing a cooling plate in another embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a sectional schematic diagram showing a cross section of the cooling plate in FIG. 4 along a line 5-5;

FIG. 6 is a sectional diagram showing that the cooling plate in FIG. 5 is used at the heat source;

FIG. 7 is a exploded diagram showing a water cooling device in one embodiment; and

FIG. 8 is a sectional diagram showing that the water cooling device in FIG. 7 is used at the heat source.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 is a three-dimensional diagram showing a cooling plate in one embodiment. FIG. 2 is a sectional schematic diagram showing a cross section of the cooling plate in FIG. 1 along a line 2-2. As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the cooling plate 100 includes a plate 110 and a working fluid 120. The plate 110 is a hollow structure, and vacuumed enclosed space 112 is formed in the plate 110. The working fluid 120 is accommodated in the enclosed space 112. The plate 110 can be made of copper, aluminum or other mental of high thermal conductivity. The working fluid 120 can be water or alcohol, which is not limited herein.

In this embodiment, the enclosed space 112 may be vacuumized by a vacuum process to make the boiling point of the working fluid 120 drop. The pressure range of the enclosed space 112 includes a low vacuum (760 to 100 torr), a medium vacuum (100 to 1 torr), a middle-high vacuum (1 to 10⁻³ torr) and a high vacuum (10⁻³ to 10⁻⁷ torr). The pressure of the enclosed space 112 is adjusted according to the wattage of a heat source 310 or the character of the working fluid. The using state of the cooling plate 100 is illustrated hereinafter.

FIG. 3 is a sectional schematic diagram showing that the cooling plate in FIG. 2 is used at the heat source 310. The heat source 310 is disposed at the circuit board 320. The heat source 310 can be a central processing unit (CPU), a graphic chip or other electronic element which can generate heat. When the cooling plate 100 is disposed at the heat source 310, the heat generated by the heat source 310 can be conducted via the plate 110. The working fluid 120 in the plate 110 absorbs the heat of the plate 110 to have the phase transformation. The end of the cooling plate 100 which is near the heat source 310 is a high temperature side (such as a downside of the cooling plate 100), the other end which is away from the heat source 310 is a low temperature side (such as an upside of the cooling plate 100).

For example, if the working fluid 120 is water, the liquid water which is near an internal surface 122 is heated to the water vapor, and the water vapor flows towards the internal surface 124 along a direction D1. Since the temperature of the inner surface 124 is lower than that of the inner surface 122, the water vapor is condensed to the liquid water at the inner surface 124. When the liquid water condensed at the inner surface 124 accumulates to a certain volume, the liquid water drips towards the direction D2 to back to the inner surface 122 due to gravity. Consequently, the working fluid 120 can stabilize the temperature of the heat source 310 by changing the phase continually to avoid that the heat source 310 is overheated and damaged.

That is, the cooling plate 100 also has the ability of heat storage, besides the ability of heat diffusion.

FIG. 4 is a three-dimensional diagram showing a cooling plate 100 a in another embodiment. FIG. 5 is a sectional schematic diagram showing a cross section of the cooling plate 100 a in FIG. 4 along a line 5-5. As shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, the cooling plate 100 a includes the plate 110 and the working fluid 120. Different from the embodiments in FIG. 1, and FIG. 2, an outside surface 114 of the plate 110 which is at the back of the enclosed space 112 includes a plurality of first concave-convex structures 132, the inner surface 122, 124 of the plate 110 which faces the enclosed space 112 include a plurality of second concave-convex structures 134 and 136, respectively. The first concave-convex structure 132 and the second concave-convex structure 134,136 can be one or a combination of a convex rib, a groove, and a grid. The first concave-convex structure 132 and the second concave-convex structure 134,136 are formed by processing the plate 110 (such as stamping), or they also may be fixed at the plate 110 by welding or gluing, which is not limited.

In the flowing, the using state of the cooling plate 100 a is illustrated.

FIG. 6 is a sectional diagram showing that the cooling plate 100 a in FIG. 5 is used at the heat source 310. When the cooling plate 100 a is disposed at the heat source 310, the heat generated by the heat source 310 is conducted by the plate 110. The working fluid 120 in the plate 110 absorbs the heat of the plate 110 to change the phase. In this embodiment, the second concave-convex structure 134 can increase the area of the inner surface 122 contacting the working fluid 120 and enhance the efficiency of conducting the heat from the part of the plate 110 which has high temperature to the gaseous working fluid 120, and the evaporation rate of the working fluid 120 is increased. Moreover, the second concave-convex structure 136 increases the area of the inner surface 124 contacting the working fluid 120, and the efficiency of conducting heat from the pan of the plate 110 with lower temperature to the gaseous working fluid 120 is increased to accelerate the condensation of the gaseous working fluid 120.

Furthermore, the first concave-convex structure 132 is at the outside surface 114 of the plate 110, the area of the outside surface 114 contacting the air is increased to enhance the efficiency of heat dissipation of the plate 110. That is, the first concave-convex structure 132 and the second concave-convex structures 134 and 136 can enhance the heat exchange efficiency of the cooling plate 100 a, the heat of the heat source 310 can be exhausted out effectively.

The first concave-convex structure 132 and the second concave-convex structures 134 and 136 can be selectively set at the plate 110 according to demands, which is not limited. For example, the plate 110 includes the second concave-convex structure 134 but does not include the first concave-convex structure 132 and the second concave-convex structure 136, and the plate 110 also may include the first concave-convex structure 132 but does not include the second concave-convex structures 134 and 136, which is determined according to demands.

However, when the heat source 310 is at a high load and has high temperature, the cooling plate can be connected to a water cooling module to exhaust the heat of the heat source 310 out effectively. the flowing. Then, a water cooling device with the cooling plate 100 a is taken as an example hereinafter.

FIG. 7 is an exploded diagram showing the water cooling device 200 in one embodiment. FIG. 8 is a sectional diagram showing that the water cooling device 200 in FIG. 7 is used in the heat source 310. As shown in FIG. 7 and FIG. 8, the water cooling device 200 includes the cooling plate 100 a and the water cooling module 210. The water cooling module 210 can be connected to the cooling plate 100 a. The water cooling module 210 includes the cooling plate connector 212 (that is a cooling head), a pump 214, a heat exhaust part 216 (that is a heat exchanger), a first connecting pipe 218 a, a second connecting pipe 218 b and a cooling liquid 215. The cooling plate connector 212 includes a cavity 213, and the cooling plate 100 a is disposed in the cavity 213. The pump 214 is disposed in the cavity 213. The second connecting pipe 218 b and the first connecting pipe 218 a are connected between the cooling plate connector 212 and the heat exhaust part 216. The cooling liquid 215 is accommodated in the cavity 213, the heat exhaust part 216, the first connecting pipe 218 a and the second connecting pipe 218 b.

The cooling liquid 215 can be water, which is not limited herein. The fan 220 may be a system fan or a fan attached to the heat exhaust part 216. The fan 220 blows towards the heat exhaust part 216 to decrease the temperature of the heat exhaust part 216, and then the temperature of the cooling liquid 215 in the heat exhaust part 216 drops.

When the heat source 310 operates, the pump 214 makes the cooling liquid 215 flow along a direction D3 from heat exhaust part 216, the first connecting pipe 218 a, the cooling plate connector 212, and then to the second connecting pipe 218 b. Since the outside surface 114 of the plate 110 of the cooling plate 100 a which contacts the cooling liquid 215 includes the first concave-convex structure 132, the cooling liquid 215 takes the heat of the plate 110 away quickly, the condensation of the gaseous working fluid 120 near the inner surface 124 is accelerated to enhance the heat exchange of the cooling plate 100 a. Consequently, the water cooling device 200 can make the temperature of the heat source 310 drop effectively.

When the cooling liquid 215 flows through the cooling plate 100 a in the cavity 213, the temperature of the cooling liquid 215 increases, and the cooling liquid 215 flows through the second connecting pipe 218 b into the heat exhaust part 216. Then, the wind generated by the fan 220 makes the temperature of the heat exhaust part 216 drop due to the thermal convection, and the cooling liquid 215 flowing out the heat exhaust part 216 has lower temperature than that flows into the heat exhaust part 216. The cooling liquid 215 at lower temperature flows into the cavity 213 of the cooling plate connector 212 via the first connecting pipe 218 a.

In this embodiment, the pump 214 can be a constant speed pump or a variable frequency pump If the pump 214 is the constant speed pump, when the pump 214 is powered on, the cooling liquid 215 flows circularly from the heat exhaust part 216, through the first connecting pipe 218 a and the cooling plate connector 212 to the second connecting pipe 218 b, and the water cooling device 200 exhausts the heat. When the pump 214 is powered off, the cooling liquid 215 stops flowing, the water cooling device 200 can store the heat via the cooling liquid 215 in the cooling plate 100 a and the cavity 213.

When the pump 214 is the variable frequency pump, the pump 214 can be electrically connected to a temperature control device (not shown) which detects the heat source 310. The temperature control device can detect the temperature of the heat source 310 and adjust the power of the pump 214. For example, the lower the temperature of the heat source 310 is, the smaller the power of the pump 214 and the flow of the cooling liquid 215 are. The higher the temperature of the heat source 310 is the larger the power of the pump 214 and the flow of the cooling liquid 215 are. Consequently, the water cooling device 200 can save energy. Additionally, the temperature control device can set that the pump 214 is powered on when the temperature of the heat source 310 is higher than a specific value (such as 70° C.) according to demands, which is not limited herein.

The connection between the cooling plate (such as the cooling plate 100 in the embodiment in FIG. 1) and the water cooling module 210 in other embodiments is similar to that between the cooling plate 100 a and the water cooling module 210, and the principles are similar, which is omitted herein.

The cooling plate and the water cooling device at least have advantages:

(1) the cooling plate includes the working fluid, and the working fluid is accommodated in the confined space of the plate, when the cooling plate is disposed at the heat source, the heat generated by the heat source is conducted by the plate, the working fluid in the plate absorbs the heat to change the phase, and the cooling plate has the function of heat diffusion and heat storage;

(2) when the water cooling module is connected to the cooling plate, the cooling plate and the cooling liquid are in the cavity of the cooling plate connector, the cooling liquid takes away the heat of the cooling plate quickly to drops the temperature of the heat source effectively;

(3) the first concave-convex structure and the second concave-convex structure can disposed at the outside surface or the inner surface of the plate of the cooling plate according to demands to make the rate of the heat exchange of the cooling plate is enhanced.

Although the disclosure has been described m considerable detail with reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof, the disclosure is not for limiting the scope. Persons having ordinary skill in the art may make various modifications and changes without departing from the scope. Therefore, the scope of the appended claims should not be limited to the description of the preferred embodiments described above. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A cooling plate, comprising: a plate including a vacuum enclosed space; and a working fluid accommodated in the enclosed space.
 2. The cooling plate according to claim 1, wherein an outside surface of the plate which is at back of the enclosed space includes a plurality of first concave-convex structures.
 3. The cooling plate according to claim 2, wherein the first concave-convex structure is one or a combination of a convex rib, a groove, or a grid.
 4. The cooling plate according to claim 1, wherein an inner surface of the plate facing the enclosed space includes a plurality of second concave-convex structures.
 5. The cooling plate according to claim 4, wherein the second concave-convex structure is one or a combination of the convex rib, the groove, the grid.
 6. A water cooling device, comprising: a cooling plate, including: a plate including a vacuum enclosed space; and a working fluid accommodated in the enclosed space; and a water cooling module connected to the cold plate.
 7. The water cooling device according to claim 6, wherein the water cooling module includes: a cooling plate connector including a cavity, wherein the cooling plate is in the cavity; a pump disposed in the cavity; a beat exhaust pan; a first connecting pipe; a second connecting pipe, wherein the second connecting pipe and the first connecting pipe are connected between the cooling plate connector and the heat exhaust part; and a cooling liquid accommodated in the cavity, the heat exhaust part, the first connecting pipe and the second connecting pipe.
 8. The water cooling device according to claim 7, wherein an outside surface of the plate contacting the cooling liquid includes a plurality of first concave-convex structures.
 9. The water cooling device according to claim 7, wherein the pump is a constant speed pump or a variable frequency pump.
 10. The water cooling device according to claim 6, wherein an inner surface of the plate facing the enclosed space includes a plurality of second concave-convex structures. 